Precise laser trimming of alloy strip resistor: A comparative study with femtosecond laser and nanosecond laser

Laser trimming has become one of the powerful tools for precise manufacturing of alloy resistors that are widely used in electrical vehicles, electrical controlling, and in appliances. In this work, the influence of femtosecond laser trimming is compared with nanosecond laser trimming. The authors found that lasers focused on different heights relative to the sample surface induced significant changes in surface morphologies. The resistance change was systematically investigated as a function of cutting lengths and cutting depths of different laser powers for both lasers. The experiments display that femtosecond laser trimming has a higher precision of the resistance adjustment than nanosecond laser trimming. The periodic ripple structure by the femtosecond laser was investigated at the focus position above, onto, or beneath the surface. The period of a low frequency ripple structure (LFRS) on the ablated groove bottom is about 600–700 nm when the laser focuses just right on the surface but changes to 490–560 nm when focusing above or beneath the surface. The period of a high frequency ripple structure is about 100–380 nm at the vertical direction of LFRS. The period of low frequency ripple on the outside of the groove is smaller than that on the groove bottom for all three focusing cases. The period of the LFRS is not sensitive to the laser power. The range of the resistor value change in the s-polarized light direction of the femtosecond laser is more than that in the p-polarized light direction.